Switchboard apparatus and circuits.



H. I. CLAUSEN. Y SWITCHBOARD APPARAIUS AND CIRCUITS.

APPLICATIJN FILED AUGJI, I9IG.

Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

N ww s a.

//7 Ven for /e/Wy (Maase/7.

VIII S, Q n

psrsns co.. PHomYLmm wAsmNawN. n. c.

' UNITED sTATEs PATENT OEEIOE.

HENRY P. cnAUsEN, OE MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, AssIGNoR To WEsT'ERN ELEC- TRIc COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OE NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATIONy OE NEW YORK.

SWITOHBOARD APPAizniTn's AND CIRCUITS.

To all LU/tom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY P. CLAUsEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mount Vernon, in the county of Westchester and State of New York` have invented certain new and useful' Improvements in Switchboard Apparatus and Circuits, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and eXact description.

This invention relates to an improvement in switchboard apparatus and circuits for establishing a telephone connection between subscribers.

In this arrangement, the subscribers lines are considered as consisting of two classes, namely, active lines which originate perhaps five or more calls per hour, and inactive lines on which originate a relatively7 small portion of the traific.

With this classification in view` this invention consists of a multiple switchboard in which a line signal for each line is given a position in one division of the switchboard, and the various multiple jacks for this line are lgiven similar positions in other divisions of the switchboard; the active lines, in addition, terminate in the usual way before operators and are provided with signal lamps whose actuating circuit will be completed through a switch which willbe closed during the busy period of the day.

In the present arrangement, an operator who may be termed a call operator is located before the signal division of the switchboard, and other operators who may be termined connecting operators are located before the various multiple jack divisions of the switchboard. The removal of the receiver at a subscribers station displays a lamp'in the signal division of the switchboard. The call operator, who is provided with the transmitter and means to connect the transmitter with various connecting operators receivers, observes the position and therefore the number 4of the sign al displayed. She speaks this number into he'r transmitter, thus informing one of the connecting operators that a subscriber designated by this number wants a connection. The connecting Voperator then inserts her answering plug into the multiple jack of the line indicated by the call operator and inquires for the desired number in the usual way. Having received the desired number, the connecting operator inserts her calling plug into the ASpeci'catim of Letters atent. Patented. Application filed August 4, 1916. Serial N'o. 113,107. i

multiple jack of the desired line and thus completes the connection'. The :call 'operat'ors transmitter is then manually or' vautomatically connected with aiiotlfier connectingoperator and, as soo'n as another signal vrappears n the signal section, transmits it tel'ephonically to a second connecting operator who will complete the connection 'as above described. It is also 'proposed in this arrangement to select a suitable Anumber of active lines and have these lines terminate vas usual in operators positions. These operators will also be provided with the jacks 'of the inactive lines whose calls lare distributed by the 'call operator. During the comparatively idle periods of the day, the active lines will be made -to terminate with .thenonactive lines in the signal division of the switchboard before the call operator.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates diagrammati'cally a vportion of a tele'- phone system employing the present invention; Fig. 2 `discloses a modified form of theV invention and it may besubstituted for the i call distributing meaiis shown in Fig. lby attacl'i-ing the circuits at the points `cut by the line 2.-` 2 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.

Referringto Fig.v l, L, L', lLand L3, designate subscribers lines. Of these lines, L and L are shown 'as inactive lines` while L2 and L3 are shown as active lines andare'als'o associated4 with a call distributing means.- When a call originates in anl inactive line, as in line L, the line relay 3 will be actuated in the well-known manner, causing this'relay t'o attract its armature. This closesv an energizing circuit, for llamp 4, which eXtei'ids from grounded battery, lamp 4', front 'contact and armature, of relay 3` 'to ground.'A

This signal informs the call operator that call has originated on this line: VThis operator will then 'direct one of the connecting operators before the calling jaclis 5, "6 and I to answer this call. The connecting operator will then insert a plug into the jack and, after learning the desired number, will4 complete the connection in the well-know manner.

In the case of the active,lines',pwhen a call originates in line L2, its line' relay '8wi1l be actuated. During the busy period of the day, switch 9 will be on its Contact 1:0, `in which case the lamp ll before the connecting operator Vwill be actuated over this circuit: grounded battery,switch 9, contact I0,

lamp 11, front contact and innermostl armavture of relay 8, to ground. The connecting operator will then insert the answering plug 12, into the jack 13. This completes a circuit from battery, coil 14, tip 15 of the plug, tip contact 16 of the jack, lower side of the line through the substation apparatus, upper side of the line, ring contact 17 of the jack, ring 1S of the plug, supervisory relay 19, coil 20, to battery. Relay 19 is actuated and completes an energizing circuit for cutol relay 22, which circuit extends from grounded battery, armature and front contact of relay 19, resistances 21, sleeve of the plug, sleeve contact of the jack, through cut-olf relay 22 to ground. The connecting operator then moves listening key 24 and learns the number of the desired line, whereupon she inserts the calling plug 25 into the jack 26 of the desired line. The operator then moves the ringing key at 27 to call the desired party. Supervisory relay 28 is energized over the desired line in the well-known manner when the called part-y removes his receiver. The supervisory lamps 23 and 30 inform the operator when the receivers at the calling and called substations are replaced.

In the case of calls originating on inactive lines L and L', the lamp el will be lighted in the called division of the board. `With this class of calls the call operator, whose position is herein designated by the character C, notes the number of the calling line as indicated by the lamp and telephonically transmits this number to one of the connecting operators at A and B, depending upon which one of these operators is busy.

In this modification, the call operator is automatically connected to` an idle connecting operator. If the connecting operator at A is idle, the call operator at C transmits the number of the calling line through the connecting operators receiver. This circuit eX- tends from secondary winding of induction coil 32, switch brush 33, conductor 3A, receiver 31, conductor 35, and switch brush 36, to the secondary winding of induction coil 32. If, however, connecting operator A is busy, this condition will be characterized by the attracted position of the armature of relay 29. In this instance energizing circuits will be completed for the motor magnet 37 as follows: from grounded battery, relay 38, normally closed key 39, switch brush 40, con# ductor 41, front contact and armature of relay 29, to ground. Relay 38 at its righthand armature completes a locking circuit for itself extending from grounded battery, relay 38, front Contact and armature of relay 38, over the remainder of the circuit above described, to ground. Relay 3S also attracts its left-hand armature and completes a circuit for the motor magnet 37 eX- tending from grounded battery, interrupter lthe connected operators.

invasie 42, motor magnet 37, front contact and lefthand armature of relay 38 to ground. It will here bc noted that motor magnet 37 will continue tostep the switch brushes 33, 36, and i0 until an idle connecting operator is reached. It will readily be seen that the circuit for transmitting the number of the desired line to connecting operator B extends from the secondary winding of induction coil 32, brush 33 in its second position, transmitter 43, switch brush 3G in its second position, through secondary winding of induction coil Other connecting operators will be reached through the switch brushes 33 and 36 in their third, fourth and other positions. I

During the comparatively idle periods of the day, all the calls will terminate before the call operator. In the case of the active lines, these lines will be made to terminate before the call operator by moving switches, in the case of switch 9 from its contact 10 to Contact eil, whereupon any call originating in line Ii2 will operate signal Ll5 instead of `signal 11.

Referring' to Fig. 2, in this modification the call operator manually distributes the calls originating on the non-active lines to In this case the call operator by depressing one of the keys 46, 47, or 5l will be inductively connected to one of the connecting operators. In this instance, if a connecting operator is busy, this condition will be indicated by lamps 48, 'l9, and 50. The circuit for these lamps will be indicated by tracing the circuit of lamp A8, which extends from grounded battery, conductor 52, lamp 48, conductor 4:1, front contact and armature of relay 29, to ground.

It will be understood that the present disclosure is merely illustrative of applicants device and that the scope of the present invention will be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimedis:

l. In a telephone system, the combination with a plurality of telephone lines, a lamp for each line, a plurality of multiple jacks for each line, all of said lamps bein l0- cated before certain operators, said Jacks being located before certain other operators at the central office, certain of said lines being each provided with an additional lamp associated with one of the multiple Jacks of its line, of means for controlling the circuits of the first and last mentioned related lamps, means of communication between the operator before the lamps and the operators before the jacks whereby the display of any of the first mentioned lamps may be communicated to the operators located before the jacks, and means controlled solely by the operators before the jacks for establishing connection between calling and desired lines.

'n a telephone system, the combination with a telephone line and a line signal there- Y for, of a call operators signal division free from talking conductors of said line, connecting operators divisions having multiple jacks for said line, a secondary signal at one of said connecting operators positions, means to telephonically communicate the number of the calling line from the signal division to the Connecting divisions, means at the connecting' operators divisions only for estalolishing` connections with said line as a calling or called line, and means for controlling the operation ofboth of said signals.

3. A telephone switchboard having one division containing only line signals, one for each line, other divisions containing multiple jacks, one for each line in each division, secondary line signals for some of said lines associated with one of the multiple jacks of each of such lines, means in said switchboard by which the operator in charge of the signal division may disclose to the operator in charge of any one of the jack disvisions the identity of any displayed signal, interconnecting means for the lines out of control of the operators at the signal division, and means for controlling the actuation oi' both of said sets of signals.

4. A telephone switchboard comprising a plurality of divisions, linelamp signals located in one of said divisions, multiple acks corresponding to said lamp signals located in all of the others of said divisions, secondary lamp signals corresponding to some of said line lamp signals associated With one of the multiple jacks located in certain of said divisions, means for telephonically communicating the identity of a displayed line lamp signal from an operator in position to observe the signal division to an operator in position to connect With a multiple jack of the switch line Without the signal operator making any connection With said line, interconnecting means for connection between tWo multiple jacks of the same divisions, and means for controlling the sec- Y ondary lamp signals and their corresponding line lamp signals.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 3rd day of August A. D., 1916.

HENRY P. CLAUSEN.

Copies ot this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

